Connect-The-Family Game on Kids Menus Helps Homeless Kids.

411 Kids is a Fort Lauderdale-based non-profit organization passionately committed to helping kids living on the streets. As a method of raising funds and creating awareness, 411 Kids has collaborated with JMS Designs to create and distribute family-themed kids menus. The menus are intended to open communication channels between kids and their parents at meal time and the proceeds help provide basic supplies to homeless kids.

WESTON, FL (PRWEB) February 26, 2004 --Move over mazeman, crossword and word search, connect-the-family games are coming to kids menus. South Floridas JMS Designs (www.jmsdesigns.com), a specialty printing company, has come up with a way to entertain families and save lives at the same time. The Sunrise-based company has begun producing and distributing a series of kids menus that include activities to connect children and parents during mealtime.

The custom menus will be sold nationwide by JMS with proceeds benefiting 411-KIDS (www.411kids.org), a Florida non-profit
volunteer group that helps homeless and at-risk youth. The idea for the connect-the-family kids menus came about recently after a youth football practice in Westons Regional Park. Paul Nunez, proprietor of Lucilles American Café (www.lucillescafe.com), and Seth Eisenberg, president of Eisenberg Communications and executive director of 411-KIDS, have known each other for several years through the West Broward YMCA (www.ymcabroward.org), where they are both volunteer football coaches.

Twenty thousand south Florida children were homeless last year," says Eisenberg. The most common denominator for many of the children
living on the streets and shelters is family breakdown. They are innocent victims of an epidemic they did nothing to create," Eisenberg says. Nationally, as many as three million children experience homelessness each year," he adds, Everyday, 13 of these boys and girls die on our streets from disease, abuse and suicide. Many of those deaths are right here in Florida."

I knew immediately I wanted to do something to help in a big way," says Nunez.

Nunez put Eisenberg in touch with Bruce Sharkey of JMS Designs, the longtime producer of Lucilles highly successful kids menus. He asked
them to brainstorm ways for his restaurant to help. Sharkeys Sunrise-based company is the developer of the Scribble Scrabble products that keep hundreds of thousands of youngsters busy with games and crayons on restaurant tables nationwide.

Three non-stop days later, Sharkey and Eisenberg, with help from Sharkeys wife, Susan, a pediatric nurse, two young children, and JMSs graphics team, developed a series of 411-KIDS menus that integrate easy-to-use communications exercises with entertaining kids games.

Connect-the-family kids menus were born.
Family psychologist Lori Gordon (www.pairs.org), author of several internationally acclaimed relationship books, says the new kids menus are about more than entertainment. Meals are a wonderful moment for meaningful family connections," she says. Relationships thrive when
families connect, confide and solve problems together."

Dr. Gordon says the menus will help create stronger family connections and save lives. Communications is key," she says. With the exercises introduced in these menus, youngsters have a much better chance of being happy, healthy and successful. When kids are connecting to caring adults, they are less likely to engage in dangerous behaviors. Families that play together are more likely to stay together. For kids, these are life and death issues."

Sharkey says the first series of six menus focus on improving talking, listening and confiding skills, dealing with stress, encouraging caring behaviors, resolving differences, and understanding feelings. His traditional scribble scrabble games are still there too. We want to keep the kids entertained no matter what they are interested in," he says.

JMS Designs has already begun promoting the 411-KIDS connect-the-family menus to customers nationwide. Theres a lot of interest around the country," he says. Were thrilled. The more we sell, the more well be able to help 411-KIDS get the resources they need to help homeless and at-risk youth our own community," adds Sharkey.

Sharkey, the father of two elementary age children, also lives in Weston, where he is the president of the brotherhood at Temple Dor Dorim. We all dream of giving back," he says. We are so happy to have found a wonderful way of contributing to children, families, our customers and the community while doing what we love to do: delighting youngsters through our entertaining menus."

To see one of the 411-KIDS connect-the-family menus for yourself, visit Lucilles American Café in the Waterway Shoppes of Weston, 2250 Weston Road, or contact JMS Designs, (954) 572-6100.